It was a performance that made you wonder how Zverev, at the age of 24, has not already annexed more of the game’s major prizes. The German’s 6-3, 6-1 victory marked his most significant moment since 2018, when he achieved the rare feat of beating Roger Federer and Djokovic on consecutive days to win the ATP World Tour finals. 

Zverev has been knocking on the door ever more insistently since then, gradually shaking off his reputation as a player who struggled to translate his impressive form in Masters 1000 events into success at the majors. He has reached the semi-finals or better at three of the four grand slams, but winning the Olympics represents his finest achievement to date, eclipsing his run to last year’s US Open final, where he was beaten by Dominic Thiem after leading by two sets to love.

“This is the biggest tournament you can win, in any sport,” said Zverev after following in the the footsteps of compatriot Steffi Graf, the 1988 gold medallist. “I’ve won the World Tour finals but a gold medal at the Olympics, the value is incredible because you’re not only playing for yourself, you’re playing for your country. It’s an incredible feeling. There is nothing better than this.”

It was an evening of frustration for Khanchanov, who was broken in the third game and remained on the back foot for the rest of the match. The 12th-seeded Russian has enjoyed a fine summer, reaching a clay-court semi-final in Lyon and the last eight at Wimbledon, but here he was outclassed in every department. Struggling to defend his own serve, he was equally unable to make an impression against the German’s delivery, winning less than a quarter of his return points. His only break point, which came in the sixth game, was quickly snuffed out by a big first serve into the body. Repeatedly overpowered from the baseline, Khachanov was forced outside his comfort zone, the unremitting excellence of Zverev’s play drawing errors that only compounded the Russian’s misery.

“From beginning to the end, he played an unbelievable match,” said Khachanov, whose frustration boiled over afterwards as he smashed a racket at courtside.

Such exasperation was understandable. Rarely can Zverev have played more flawlessly. The forehand is often a barometer of how well the German’s’s game is working, and here it was immaculate. Time and again Zverev pulled Khachanov beyond the doubles alley, his cross-court shots loaded with power and topspin to which the Russian had no answer. With his weaker wing firing, the quality of Zverev’s shot-making off the backhand was frequently astonishing, the German drilling winners almost at will.

Amid the relentless barrage of 140mph serves and rifled groundstrokes there was variety, too – sliding defensive backhands, drop shots, topspin lobs. With his confidence high and his game in fine fettle, all the indications are that Zverev will be a force to be reckoned with at the US Open. He was in no mood to entertain such talk, however, preferring instead to soak in the culmination of an unforgettable week.

“I don’t want to talk about the next grand slam right now because I just won the Olympic Games,” said Zverev. “I want to enjoy this one for two minutes.”

Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic failed in her bid to become the first woman to win singles and doubles gold at the same Olympics since Serena Williams at London 2012. Bencic and her partner Viktorija Golubic were beaten 7-5, 6-1 by the top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, who become the first ever Czech gold medal winners in tennis.

“I’m just really proud about how we did this week, and how we supported each other, even in the tough moments,” said Krejcikova. “We’re really happy and really grateful that we could be here. We did such a great job during these 10 days and we have this beautiful gold medal. It’s pretty much a dream come true.”

It fell to Bencic to sum up the spirit of the tennis tournament at these Games. “It’s not just about the medals or the titles, it’s about the memories you create that will last forever,” she said. “To share this with Viki is unbelievable. The whole week I never felt like I was in a normal tournament or playing alone. She was alongside me the entire way. I always tell her we won this gold medal together as well. When we will be 80 years old and have a coffee, we will talk about these moments. And I cannot wait for that.”

The post Zverev beats Khachanov to win Olympic gold appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Bencic, who becomes the first Swiss woman to win a gold medal for tennis, could hardly have done more to earn her place in the record books. For the fourth round in succession, Bencic was taken the distance, prevailing in three sets just as she had done against French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia and, in the semi-finals, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina. It was a performance of courage, stamina and resolve from the Swiss sixth seed, who successfully negotiated a contest of labyrinthine twists and turns to subdue Vondrousova, the woman she partnered to the women’s doubles title at Roland Garros three years ago, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3.

“I think maybe the success I had very early made people think now it has to go very easy. It’s not like that,” said Bencic. “Everyone has their own time. Some people do it earlier, some people later, some people never, some people always. You never know, every career has its own story but the most important is to be happy with yourself.

“You always have to overcome difficulties. I don’t know any athlete who has only ups and no downs. Sometimes I found it a bit unfair that people thought I was out of the game, I was gone. I always did my best, I always worked hard and in the end, that was what I could rely on. I knew that I always gave my best and that was enough for me.”

While Bencic now has her sights set on another gold medal alongside Viktorija Golubic, whom she will partner in Sunday’s women’s doubles final against the top-seeded Czech pairing of Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova, Vondrousova can reflect with satisfaction on a week that has brought unexpected rewards.

What a revelation the Czech has been in Tokyo, beating the second seed and home favourite Naomi Osaka in round three before powering past world No 6 Elina Svitolina in the semi-finals to record her best run since reaching the French Open final two years ago. Having arrived in Tokyo as the subject of scarcely concealed disdain from some of her compatriots after using a protected ranking to make the Czech team, edging out world No 23 Karolina Muchova, Vondrousova leaves with a silver medal and a point proved.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said the 42nd-ranked Vondrousova. “Today I was feeling a bit tired, but I think we played an amazing match. To have the medal is so good, I’m just too happy, I’m not going to be sad.”

In a match of countless twists and turns, the early momentum was with Bencic. Alive to the danger of Vondrousova’s signature drop shots, the Swiss was sharp from the outset, pouncing on anything remotely short and pounding back her opponent’s southpaw serve to earn an early break. But Bencic failed to consolidate the advantage, some loose play handing Vondrousova a love break, and when she subsequently gifted her opponent a second service game with a double fault, she cut a frustrated figure.

Adversity has brought out the best in Bencic at these Olympics, however, and some aggressive play off the ground reaped immediate dividends as she broke back at the first time of asking. It set the tone for a nip-and-tuck conclusion to the set. The decisive breakthrough came in the twelfth game, Bencic forcing the play from the baseline and harrying her opponent into errors to claim the set.

That was the cue for a tactical shift from Vondrousova. Abandoning her go-to strategy of using sliced backhands, angles and drop shots to vary the play, the Czech moved inside the baseline to clump the ball with unbridled power. Fourteen winners and 39 minutes later, the match was level.

Vondrousova carried her momentum into the decider, quickly moving a break ahead. But Bencic’s team had been imploring her to keep going for her shots, and now she paid heed, once again seeking to dictate from the back. After a lengthy game on serve, the Czech paid the price for a second successive drop shot as Bencic pounced to drill home a forehand winner. Another exchange of breaks followed, but it was Bencic who proved the steadier down the home straight, breaking to love in the eighth game before serving out for the title.

“History,” declared Federer on social media. And so it was, a piece of Swiss tennis history that Bencic was quick to dedicate to the absent Federer, with whom she had planned to play mixed doubles before a setback with his knee forced his withdrawal from the Olympics.

“Roger wrote to me today,” said Bencic. “He said this is the perfect day to reach my dreams. I was really happy about that, and he was absolutely right. He’s incredible in that way. He really supports all the Swiss players – it’s incredible the support I receive from Roger, and this win is for him.”

Further history was made in the bronze medal match, where Elina Svitolina secured a first podium finish for Ukraine in tennis with a 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 victory over Rybakina. Svitolina, the fourth seed, who was extended to a decider in each of her first three matches in Tokyo, once again did things the hard way, recovering from 4-1 down in the final set to claim the biggest win of her career.

“Coming here, for sure my goal was to win a gold medal, and it was extremely tough to lose in the semi-finals and then try to regroup and come again against a top player who is playing really good,” said Svitolina. “To win such a big battle for the bronze medal definitely means the world to me. Everyone in Ukraine is watching – we don’t win so many medals, you know – so for sure, it’s very special for me and for Ukraine.”

The post Bencic takes gold in Tokyo with Vondrousova win appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Having missed opportunities to seize an early break, Djokovic conceded the first set and saved a match point in the second before losing his composure in spectacular fashion. The Serb increasingly resembled a man auditioning for a berth in the Olympic field events, flinging his racket high into the stands before hammering it against the net post a couple of games later as he fell 3-0 behind in the decider.

There was to be no reprieve for Djokovic as Carreno Busta, 30 years old and playing in his first Olympics, ran out a 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 6-3 winner to claim the bronze medal and heap further woe on the world No 1 following his shock semi-final defeat to Alexander Zverev on Friday. 

The Spaniard was overcome by emotion afterwards, lingering on the court long after Djokovic’s departure as he wept joyfully into his towel. He has twice reached the last four at the US Open, and won his first ATP 500 title in Hamburg earlier this month, but this was surely the biggest win of his career. It was just reward for a performance of huge resilience and mental fortitude. 

“This is even more incredible than winning a tournament,” said Carreno Busta, who was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals. “I won Davis Cup, and I’ve gone far in other tournaments, but winning an Olympic medal is indescribable.

“I’ve felt the support from Spain, my family and people around me, and have received fond messages from those who saw me lose yesterday. I want to share this medal with all of them.”

For Djokovic, defeat marked a fresh Olympic nadir. He had arrived in Tokyo intent on winning the gold medal that would have given him a chance of becoming the first man in history to win all four majors and the Olympics in the same year. He instead leaves the Japanese capital empty-handed, having failed even to match the bronze medal he won in Beijing in 2008. 

To compound his misery, Djokovic later withdrew from the mixed doubles bronze-medal match, in which he was due to partner Nina Stojanovic against the Australian pairing of Ashleigh Barty and John Peers, with a sore left shoulder.

“The exhaustion, both mental and physical, got to me,” said Djokovic. “I’ve had some heart-breaking losses at the Olympic Games and some big tournaments in my career. I know that those losses have usually made me stronger in every aspect. I know that I will bounce back.

“I will try to keep going for the Paris Olympic Games. I will fight for my country to win medals. I’m sorry that I disappointed a lot of sports fans in my country, but that’s sport. I gave it all – whatever I had left in the tank, which was not so much, I left it out on the court.”

The post Carreno Busta stuns Djokovic to win Olympic bronze appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

With Djokovic aiming to become only the second player in history to win all four majors and Olympic gold in the same year, memories of Steffi Graf, who achieved the feat in 1988, have loomed large in Tokyo. Djokovic, who arrived in the Japanese capital as holder of the Australian, French and Wimbledon titles, has matched the great German step for step this season. But it will now be Zverev who attempts to emulate Graf in Sunday’s final, where he will face Karen Khanchanov, the 25th-ranked Russian, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the other semi-final.

“It’s an amazing feeling, knowing that you’re going to bring the medal back to your house, back home to Germany,” said Zverev following his 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory. “It’s incredible beating the best player in the world undoubtedly right now, and in this season. It seemed it was impossible to beat him at this event, so I’m very happy right now. But there’s still one match to go.”

With an hour gone and Djokovic a set and a break to the good, it seemed likely that Zverev’s next match would be the bronze medal playoff. The Serb had been imperious, his desire to win his first Olympic semi-final in three attempts palpable in every sinew stretched, every lost cause chased. It was a performance thoroughly in keeping with the previous rounds, in which Djokovic had looked virtually untouchable, dropping his service just once.

Zverev battled gamely but, having seen a break point come and go in the opening game, he conceded his own delivery twice in quick succession as the Serb took a major stride towards his first Olympic final.

The second set began in a more promising vein for Zverev. Sensing the need to seize the initiative, the German abandoned his fruitless policy of rallying passively from the back of the court and began stepping inside the baseline, finding greater depth and penetration as he probed for a chink in the Djokovic armour. The shift did not go unnoticed by the Serb, who emitted his first triumphal roar of the day as a Zverev backhand sailed long in the fourth game. 

With the match belatedly underway as a contest, the German looked to have shot himself in the foot when some loose groundstrokes and a pair of botched drop volleys handed Djokovic a break in the next game. Zverev knew it, too, furiously swiping a ball high into the stands. But he stuck to his guns, rifling a backhand winner before finding the baseline with a forehand of unanswerable power and penetration to move 0-30 up against the Djokovic serve.

The Serb has successfully risen to countless such mini-crises across the course of this extraordinary season. For once, though, he faltered, dropping his serve to love after two unsuccessful attempts to serve and volley his way out of trouble. By the time he next stepped up to the line, he had lost two love games. Now Zverev had the bit between his teeth, returning superbly to put Djokovic on his heels and moving confidently into the forecourt to finish the points. A scorching backhand pass, the German’s ninth successive point, laid the foundations for a second break. With Zverev serving at 5-3, Djokovic saved a set point with a backhand winner of breath-taking timing and precision, but the German was not to be denied, a timely ace and a booming forehand sealing the set.

“I was playing his game, I was rallying with him a lot, so I needed to change it up, I needed to swing through the ball a little bit more,” said Zverev. “I started playing much more aggressive, and I tried to dominate that way.”

With the match level and the extreme weather policy once again in place despite the early evening start, Djokovic trudged off to the locker room for a wardrobe change. Interestingly, Zverev opted to remain on court. Only he will know how far that contributed to his dominant display down the home straight but, untroubled by the need to re-acclimatise to the humid conditions, the German immediately picked up from where he had left off. 

Zverev fashioned an instant break, extending his run of games to five, and when he fended off break points to consolidate the advantage, Djokovic was staring down the barrel. He has weathered plenty of storms in recent months, recovering from two sets to love down against Lorenzo Musetti and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the French Open, and bouncing back from a set down to beat Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final. Yet those matches were played over five sets, allowing Djokovic time to plot a course to victory. He was always likely to be more vulnerable in a best-of-three contest, and this time there was to be no escapology. 

“Tough day, a really tough day,” said Djokovic, who later suffered a second defeat alongside Nina Stojanovic in the semi-finals of the mixed doubles. “I feel so terrible right now. My game fell apart. I was leading a set then a break and he managed to turn the match around, he served huge, was attacking, and I was not getting any free points on my first serves and I missed a lot of first serves from 3-2 in the second. To play someone of his quality, of his level, it’s just too tough to win a match.”

Having fired a final backhand winner to seal the match, Zverev consoled Djokovic during a lingering embrace at the net. “I told him that he’s the greatest of all time, and he will be,” said Zverev. “I know that he was chasing history, chasing the golden slam and was chasing the Olympics, but in these kind of moments me and Novak are very close. Of course I’m happy that I’ve won, but at the end of the day I know how Novak feels.”

How Zverev felt soon became evident, the German crouching on his haunches as he was briefly overwhelmed by the enormity of the moment. He knows he will need to regroup quickly. Khachanov, who attributes his impressive run to the final to an improved mental outlook, was in ominously good form against Carreno Busta. Yet he has risen to such a challenge before, winning the ATP Tour finals in London three years ago, and may be helped by the knowledge that he is representing a greater cause. 

“You’re not only playing for yourself,” reflected Zverev. “You are playing for the whole country, for the people here, for everybody watching and supporting you.”

The post Alexander Zverev ends Novak Djokovic’s Olympic dream appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

There was the moment in the fifth game of the opening set when Djokovic groaned in frustration, disappointment writ large on his face, after driving a backhand long to miss a break point. There was the rifled backhand winner from Nishikori that brought up 30-30 in the next game – a chance, perhaps, to break the top seed’s serve for only the second time in the tournament – and the Djokovic ace that followed. There was the guttural roar emitted by the Serb when he saved a break point at the start of the second set, pulling Nishikori from one corner to the other before unleashing a forehand winner. 

A close match, then? Not remotely. Djokovic won 6-2, 6-0. Yet the sheer intensity of the Serb, his almost savage level of focus in the seemingly innocuous moments that make the difference between a resounding victory and a tight match, says everything about the mental fortitude his Serbian team-mates were so keen to learn about. The man is relentless.

There are times when the fervour of Djokovic’s approach can seem disproportionate to the task in hand. His unflinching desire to snuff out opportunities, to deny his opponents an inch, will be vital to his assault on the record books as he attempts a clean sweep of all four majors and the Olympics. Even so, it is not to everyone’s taste. 

Marcelo Melo, the Brazilian doubles specialist, felt Djokovic overstepped the mark in the opening round of the mixed. Melo, who partnered Luisa Stefani in a 6-3, 6-4 opening-round defeat against Djokovic and Nina Stojanovic, expressed disappointment at the way the Serb seemed to aim words and gestures at the Brazilian’s box, and also took exception to being struck by an overhead. 

“Novak surprised me, but in a negative way,” said Melo. “He had a smash directly in my back, which he didn’t have to play that way … We did nothing to him to deserve that. In one moment, he almost hit Luisa. Of course, these are the Olympic Games, everything is happening on the court. He does what he does during points, but he should have some limits.”

Djokovic, who brushed off the comments, is not about to alter his methods. Not with history at stake, and least of all against an opponent like Nishikori. The former world No 4, a bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics in 2016, is not the force he once was. A string of injuries – including problems with his wrist, elbow and shoulder, the last of which required surgery two years ago – has seen to that. Now ranked 69th, Nishikori married his long-term girlfriend Mai Yamauchi last December and will become a father for the first time later this year. At 31, other priorities beckon. 

Yet Nishikori, who has taken sets off Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander this year, remains a dangerous player, and Djokovic was in no mood to offer the home favourite encouragement. “My level of tennis is getting better and better,” said Djokovic, who will play Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals after the German fourth seed saw off Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-1. “I know that I’m the kind of player that, the further the tournament goes, the better I’m feeling on the court. That was the case here: my best performance of the tournament tonight against a very good opponent.

“Kei, I know his game very well. Him playing in Japan, this court where he had lots of success, I knew that he’s going to play very quick and he’s not going to give me a lot of time, so I had to be very alert. I feel I had an answer for everything he had.”

In the lower half of the draw, second seed Daniil Medvedev crashed to a 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) defeat against Pablo Carreno Busta. With Medvedev looking tired after his energy-sapping win over Fabio Fognini on Wednesday, Carreno Busta, seeded sixth, recovered from 3-1 down in the second set to complete the victory.

“This was one of the best matches of my career,” said the Spaniard, who will face Karen Khachanov in the last four after the Russian beat France’s Ugo Humbert 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3. “Daniil is a top player, he is No 2 in the world and it’s very difficult to play against him. He plays with very high intensity, he plays at a pace that is very difficult to match, but today I managed it.

“I came here for a medal. There are four of us left and there are only three medals, so I need one more win to get it. At the moment things are going very well, the plan is going very well. I won’t relax and will continue with this intensity.”

Despite the later start start time of 3pm, a switch designed to avoid the hottest part of the day following complaints from the players, Medvedev once again struggled in the sweltering conditions. “I changed everything I had,” said the Russian of his wardrobe change after the first set. “I wanted to change my skin, because I was sweating like I never did before. It was terrible. I didn’t enjoy the conditions still, but it was much better than playing at 11.”

Medvedev, who acknowledged the superb performance of his opponent, added: “I couldn’t play better than I did today. I could serve better, but then I was wet like hell. I couldn’t toss the ball well, once I tossed the ball and got water in my eyes. It was not easy to play and I’m really disappointed with myself and for my country to lose in the quarters.”

Belinda Bencic will play Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in the women’s final. Bencic, the Swiss world No 12, saved six set points in the opening set to overcome Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 6-3. “To have a medal, it’s something I dreamed of, and I didn’t think it would become reality,” said the tearful Bencic, who is also in the women’s doubles final alongside Viktorija Golubic. “I’m beyond relieved and happy.”

The 42nd-ranked Vondrousova made short work of Elina Svitolina, the fourth seed, whose epic run of three-set wins finally came to an end with a 6-3, 6-1 reversal. “It’s an amazing feeling to represent my country in the bronze medal match, but I’m really disappointed today,” said the Ukrainian, who made 15 unforced errors to her opponent’s five.

“I tried my best, but I expected to go further. Unfortunately, there are other players who are playing well. It’s extremely tough and it didn’t happen today. Marketa played really well, a very solid performance, and I couldn’t find my best tennis.”

The post Djokovic routs Nishikori as Vondrousova sets up Bencic final appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Minutes earlier, with Medvedev doubled up in exhaustion, the chair umpire Carlos Ramos had asked if the Russian was okay.“I can finish the match, but I can die,” Medvedev replied. “If I die, will the ITF take responsibility?”

Now, with his match against Italy’s Fabio Fognini level at one set all and the extreme weather policy once again in force at the Ariake tennis park, the second seed was trudging wearily off court for a 10-minute respite from the searing Tokyo heat. 

Having taken a cold shower, Medvedev returned to see out a gruelling victory over Fognini 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 and set up a last-eight meeting with Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, the sixth seed. It remains to be seen how much the physically punishing contest has taken out of him. Medvedev required medical attention on three separate occasions, twice for an abdominal problem that affected his breathing and later after suffering cramp in his left arm and thigh.

With both players labouring, the contest was excruciating to watch at times. Having fallen behind after a poor start, Fognini took every opportunity to move his stricken opponent around the court, pushing the Russian from corner to corner before drawing him forward with short angles and drop shots. In the seventh game of the second set, Medvedev twice missed chances to seal a potentially decisive break. After each energy-sapping exchange, the Russian was left crouched over on his racket, desperately gasping for air.

Amid it all, Fognini somehow remained his usual volcanic self. The Italian became understandably frustrated in the third game when, following a lengthy rally, he was called for a time violation after taking too long to towel off. Ramos felt the full force of his ire at the change of ends. When Fognini suffered a second consecutive break of serve to fall 4-1 behind, the world No 31 furiously reduced his racket to a crumpled heap. 

After the match, Medevev too got hot under the collar, raging at a reporter who asked him if Russian athletes in Tokyo were “carrying a stigma of cheaters” after the country was banned from the Olympics for a catalogue of doping offences. “That’s the first time in my life I’m not going to answer a question. You should be embarrassed of yourself,” said Medvedev. 

Calling for the journalist to be removed from the Games, the Russian then told a nearby press officer: “I think you should wire him from either the Olympic Games, either the tennis tournament. I don’t want to see him again in my interviews.”

On the subject of the weather, Medvedev was more forthcoming. “Even from the first set I didn’t feel good enough with my breathing,” he said. “That’s why I called the physio. I felt like my diaphragm was blocked. And then in the second set, I just had darkness in my eyes, like between every point. I didn’t know what to do to feel better. Like I was bending over and I couldn’t get my breath together, so I was ready to just fall down on the court.”

Perhaps in belated answer to Medvedev’s question to Ramos about the International Tennis Federation taking responsibility for the potentially life-threatening conditions, the world governing body later announced that, from Thursday, the start time for matches would be pushed back from 11am to 3pm in order to avoid the hottest part of the day. It was a measure that both Medvedev and Novak Djokovic had called for after their opening round matches, the Serb remarking that “playing for half an hour and then retiring” was not an Olympic experience any athlete would want.

On a day when Spain’s Paula Badosa was forced to withdraw with heatstroke after losing the first set to Marketa Vondrousova, Djokovic’s words proved prescient. Badosa, who lost five games in a row to the 42nd-ranked Czech after establishing a 3-1 lead, remained in her chair at the change of ends and was subsequently escorted from the court in a wheelchair. The ITF said the decision to alter the schedule was made “in the interests of player health and welfare”.

“It’s a shame to end my participation in this way,” said Badosa, the world No 29. “It’s been a tough ask since day one. We tried to adapt as best we could, but today my body hasn’t held up as it needed to.”

There were no such problems for Djokovic, who moved into the last eight with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Power and consistency from the baseline are the bedrock of the Spaniard’s game, but such qualities are meat and drink to the top seed, who has now dropped just 15 games en route to the quarter finals.

Davidovich Fokina nonetheless had his moments. There was a beautiful, angled drop volley that drew generous applause from the Serb. A finely crafted topspin backhand lob, flicked from deep behind the baseline by Davidovich Fokina with his weight falling backwards, likewise received the thumbs-up. But then Djokovic could afford to be magnanimous, given his supremacy. The match had the air of a training session – perhaps no coincidence, given that the pair have been regular practice partners since Djokovic moved to Marbella last year.

If the Spanish 16th seed thought those workouts would give him an edge against the world No 1, he was swiftly disabused of the notion. Inside knowledge acquired on the practice court is a two-way street, and Djokovic had the measure of his opponent throughout. Davidovich Fokina’s most promising moment came as early as the third game, when some bold hitting off the ground combined with a couple of rare loose shots from Djokovic brought up two break points. The top seed responded with aplomb, twice outrallying the Spaniard before showcasing the range of his game with some aggressive play in the forecourt. Davidovich Fokina did not have another opportunity to break for the remainder of the match. 

Djokovic, who later won his opening match in the mixed doubles alongside Nina Stojanovic, said he was comfortable dealing with the pressure that accompanies his quest for a clean sweep of all four majors plus Olympic gold. “Without pressure there is no professional sport,” said Djokovic, who will face Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the last eight after the former world No 4 beat Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 7-6 (11-9), 6-0. 

“If you are aiming to be at the top of the game you better start learning how to deal with pressure and how to cope with those moments, on the court but also off the court. All that buzz and all that noise is the thing that, I can’t say I don’t see it or I don’t hear it, of course it´s there, but I’ve learned, I’ve developed the mechanism how to deal with it in such a way that it will not impose destruction to me. It will not wear me down.”

Djokovic’s path to Olympic glory was further eased by the defeat of Stefanos Tsitsipas, who led the Serb by two sets to love in last month’s French Open final. Tsitsipas, the third seed, was hampered by a leg injury in the closing stages of his 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 loss to Ugo Humbert of France, the 14th seed.

In the women’s draw, fourth seed Elina Svitolina will face Vondrousova in the semi-finals after beating Italy’s Camila Giorgi 6-4, 6-4. Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, the ninth seed, beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-0, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a last-four appointment with Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, the 15th seed, who defeated Garbiñe Muguruza 7-5, 6-1.

The post Medvedev toils in Tokyo heat as Djokovic cruises appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

On a day when the inspiration that has carried her to four of the last six majors contested on hard courts simply would not come, Osaka, the second seed, slumped to a 6-1, 6-4 defeat against Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, the latest major casualty in an event of seismic shocks. With Ashleigh Barty and Aryna Sabalenka also out, fourth seed Elina Svitolina is the highest-ranked player left standing.

Had the pressure told? “I mean, yes and no,” said Osaka, who initially avoided reporters before returning to face questions. “I feel like I should be used to it by now. But at the same time, I think the scale of everything is a bit higher because of the break that I took. I am glad I didn’t lose in the first round, at least.”

Osaka, who pulled out of the French Open on mental health grounds after refusing to take part in press conferences, and also missed Wimbledon, added: “I’ve taken long breaks before and I’ve managed to do well. I’m not saying that I did bad right now, but I do know that my expectations were a lot higher. I feel like my attitude wasn’t that great because I don’t really know how to cope with that pressure, so that’s the best that I could have done in this situation.”

Having used a protected ranking to qualify for the Olympics, controversially edging out her higher-ranked compatriot Karolina Muchova, Vondrousova made the most of her opportunity, denying her opponent rhythm from the back of the court with a combination of sliced backhands and deft drop shots. She capitalised on a poor start by Osaka, who dropped her opening service game and quickly fell 4-0 behind, and swiftly recovered after conceding a break early in the second set.

When Osaka rifled a forehand winner to save the first of two match points, an unlikely comeback began to look possible. But an unforced error, one of 32 made by Osaka in all, brought up a third match point for the Czech. Some fine retrieving by Vondrousova carried her over the line. 

“I wasn’t playing under pressure, but of course the second set was tight, so I was a bit under pressure then, those two match points and then deuce,” said Vondrousova, who will face Spain’s Paula Badosa for a place in the semi-finals. “I’m just very happy with my game today. The first set was amazing. I hope I’ll keep going.

“I needed to change the rhythm because from the back she is amazing both sides, so I knew I had to play slice and drop shots, my lefty serve; that was my plan today. The end was very tight, it could have gone both ways, so I’m just happy to be through.”

With the US and Australian Open champion joining Wimbledon winner Barty on the sidelines, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic made it a grand slam of upsets with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Barbora Krejcikova, the French Open champion. Bencic will play Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the beaten finalist at Roland Garros, after the 13th seed beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-3. 

While Pavlyuchenkova has dropped just seven games en route to the quarter-finals, Svitolina was extended to a final set for the third round in succession. The Ukrainian finally subdued Maria Sakkari of Greece 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to book a last-eight meeting with Camila Giorgi of Italy, who beat Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova 6-4, 6-2.

Garbiñe Muguruza, the seventh seed, beat Alison van Uytvanck 6-4, 6-1 and will now meet Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina, who defeated Donna Vekic of Croatia, conqueror of Sabalenka in the previous round, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4.

In the men’s draw, Britain’s Liam Broady produced the shock of the day with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, the seventh seed and Wimbledon semi-finalist.

“It’s obviously a career-best and a career high moment,” said Broady, the world No 143, who was called up to the British team at the eleventh hour after Dan Evans withdrew with coronavirus. “To come in and represent Team GB at the Olympics, it can’t have gone any better. I’ve started to put a few results together and started to build quite stable foundations within my tennis, and off the court. That’s starting to pay off this year. It’s nice to get this result to show I’m doing something right.”

Broady will face Jeremy Chardy next after the Frenchman beat Aslan Karatsev 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the third seed, defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-4 to gain a measure of revenge for his first-round exit to the American at Wimbledon.

The post Naomi Osaka joins exodus of the seeds in Tokyo appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Having toiled for almost three hours in the searing Tokyo heat to subdue Caroline Garcia in the previous round, Vekic survived another epic contest to upset Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3) in two hours and 35 minutes. 

The 50th-ranked Croatian, whose giant-killing act comes hard on the heels of Ashleigh Barty’s shock exit to Sara Sorribes Tormo, is fast becoming the marathon woman of the Games.

“It is really good, really satisfying,” said Vekic, who has only once previously won successive matches since undergoing surgery on her right knee in February. “Winning 7-6 in the third set is always great. She’s playing really good tennis this year so I’m sure this win will give me a lot of confidence.

“I don’t want to think about my chances of a medal. I’ve played two tough, long matches. I’ve come here I would say not 100% prepared. I’m still struggling a little bit with my knee. I’m just taking it one day at a time. I will try to recover and get ready for tomorrow.”

Sabalenka’s loss marked the biggest upset on a day of dismay in the women’s draw that also brought defeats for Iga Swiatek, the sixth seed and former French Open champion, and Petra Kvitova, a bronze medallist at the Rio Olympics.  

Swiatek, whose father Tomasz competed in the men’s quadruple sculls event at the 1988 Olympics, was inconsolable following her 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) defeat to Spain’s Paula Badosa. Reared on tales of the Seoul Games, where her father stood in an Olympic Village food queue alongside Steffi Graf and Gabriela Sabatini, Swiatek had been desperate to add a senior medal to the gold she won alongside close friend Kaja Juvan at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics. 

But Badosa, who reached her first grand slam quarter-final at the French Open last month, had other ideas, clawing her way back from an early break in both sets to leave the disconsolate Swiatek sobbing into her towel for several minutes after the match had ended.

“It seems to me that 90% of players cry after losing matches,” said Swiatek. “This time it happened to me. We are also human. Competing at the highest level every week is not easy … She put a lot of pressure on me, she was attacking all the time.”

Kvitova’s hopes of a second Olympic medal were undone by Belgium’s Alison Van Uytvanck, the world No 59, who shrugged off the loss of the opening set to claim her first win over a top 10 player since defeating Garbiñe Muguruza at Wimbledon three years ago. Van Uytvanck, who like Vekic is also battling her way back after knee surgery, will renew hostilities with the Spaniard in round three.

“She’s a legend in our sport,” said Van Uytvanck of former Wimbledon champion Kvitova, the 10th seed. “She’s an absolute great player and it’s an honour to share the court with her – that’s what I told her at the net. I think what she has done for women’s tennis is incredible. I hope that I can maybe some day achieve the same things she has achieved. I’m proud of myself with what I did on court today and the level I reached.

“After the surgery it has been tough to come back to competition. I lost a couple of matches in a row, then I had the grass season which gave me good confidence. Then to come here and beat Petra is one of the biggest wins I ever had.”

With her rivals dropping like flies, Naomi Osaka continued her serene progress through the women’s draw with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic. Osaka, the second seed, will play Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in round three.

Karolina Pliskova brought Carla Suárez Navarro’s involvement in the women’s singles to an end, although not without a fight. Suárez Navarro, playing in her fourth and final Olympics following her recovery from Hodgkin’s lymphoma, fought back strongly after conceding the first set, establishing a 4-1 lead in the second before finally drawing level on a tiebreak. But Pliskova, the Wimbledon finalist, held firm to secure a 6-3, 6-7 (0-7), 6-1 victory and set up a third-round meeting with Italy’s Camila Giorgi.

In the men’s draw, top seed Novak Djokovic kept his gold medal challenge on track with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. 

Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, brushed aside India’s Sumit Nagal 6-2, 6-1, while Alexander Zverev cruised past Daniel Elahi Galan of Egypt 6-2, 6-2.

The post Vekic beats Sabalenka as seeds tumble in Tokyo appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Clearly Sara Sorribes Tormo was listening. The Spaniard, ranked 48th in the world and with only one previous win over a top 10 player to her name, made light of her underdog status to fashion a stunning upset as she sent the world No 1 crashing to a 6-4, 6-3 defeat.

Barely two weeks after winning her first Wimbledon title, Barty looked desperately out of sorts, struggling with her footwork, shot selection and consistency as she lost four of the opening five games. Though she rallied briefly after conceding a break early in the second set, the Australian top seed never looked comfortable, spraying 55 unforced errors as she wilted in the blistering Tokyo heat. 

“It was a tough day, a disappointing day,” said Barty. “I can’t lie about that. It was just loose. I knew I wanted to try and take the match on today and it was going to be a fine line of pushing too hard and not getting stuck into patterns I didn’t want to get stuck in. [I was] just too erratic today, I wasn’t able to make enough balls.

“Credit to Sara though, she is always a tough competitor,” added Barty, whose medal hopes now rest on her doubles campaign alongside Storm Sanders. “I never really felt comfortable out there and wasn’t able to play the match on my terms. The key to my game is serving well and I wasn’t able to do that today. I was a bit erratic and made too many errors.”

Sorribes Tormo, who won the first title of her career in Guadalajara four months ago, was contrastingly steady, looping high balls to the Barty backhand and making just 13 unforced errors as she carved out the biggest win of her career. As she acknowledged afterwards, the Spaniard, who beat Naomi Osaka in the Billie Jean King Cup last year, relishes representing her country.

“I still have goosebumps, it’s amazing,” said Sorribes Tormo. “It’s the best victory in my career, because of the place, for who she is, because of what Olympics means to me and because of playing for Spain. 

“The dream of my life was playing here. I still have goosebumps. Winning against the No 1 … I don’t know how to describe it.”

There were no such problems for Osaka, the world No 2, who won the opening five games against China’s Zheng Saisai as she cruised to a 6-1, 6-4 victory in her first match since withdrawing from the French Open at the end of May over mental health concerns.

“The Olympics has been a dream of mine since I was a kid, so I feel like the break that I took was very needed,” said Osaka, the US and Australian Open champion, who lit the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony. “I feel definitely a little bit refreshed and I’m happy again.

“I feel a little bit out of my body right now. There’s nothing wrong with my body, I just felt really nervous. I haven’t played since France, so there were definitely some things that I did a bit wrong. But I think I can improve.”

Aryna Sabalenka, the third seed, swept past Poland’s Magda Linette 6-2, 6-1, while Wimbledon finalist Karolina Pliskova dismissed Alizé Cornet of France 6-1, 6-3. 

Pliskova, who dropped just six points on serve, will play Carla Suárez Navarro in round two after the Spaniard defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-1 to claim her first victory since returning from Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

“I am really happy,” said Suárez Navarro, the former world No 6, who plans to retire after the US Open. “For me, it was tough all these months. I was so happy on the court and I really enjoyed this week. This is a really special event for me, for us, for everyone. I am really happy for my first win after the comeback.”

The post Ash Barty falls to shock defeat in Olympics opener appeared first on Love Game Tennis.

Murray, 34, had made an auspicious start to his Olympic campaign on Saturday, showing no apparent signs of injury as he teamed up with Joe Salisbury in the men’s doubles to clinch a straight-sets victory over the French second-seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.

That win left Murray upbeat about his prospects in Tokyo, but the double Olympic champion has been plagued by physical setbacks since undergoing hip surgery two and a half years ago and on Sunday morning, with his singles match against ninth seed Auger-Aliassime looming, he sought medical advice after suffering tightness in his thigh. 

Having been cautioned against competing in both events, Murray opted to pull out of his match against the Canadian, who beat him in straight sets in their only previous meeting at last year’s US Open, and instead continue alongside Salisbury in the men’s doubles. 

“I am really disappointed at having to withdraw but the medical staff have advised me against playing in both events,” said Murray, who won gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016. “I have made the difficult decision to withdraw from the singles and focus on playing doubles with Joe.”

It is another unwelcome setback for Murray, who has suffered injuries to his pelvis and groin since having his hip resurfaced, and also missed this year’s Australian Open after contracting Covid-19. 

Murray’s replacement in the draw, Australia’s Max Purcell, recorded a shock straight-sets win over Auger-Aliassime. Purcell, an Australian Open men’s doubles finalist last year, made the most of his late call-up to defeat the 15th-ranked Canadian 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). The result will only add to Murray’s sense of what might have been.  

The post Injured Murray pulls out of Olympic singles appeared first on Love Game Tennis.